in Truth Be Told To the Editor: I find it really sad that Marty


Disputes truth


O'Connor feels it is necessary to promote his socialistic ideology. The drivel he has presented us in the April 2012 issue does nothing but keep the membership in the dark, a membership that relies on him to inform us of policies the state contemplates that will directly affect us. I find it disingenuous at best and


downright irresponsible that he feels we must be indoctrinated in his political ideology with statements that are inaccurate and completely inappropriate. He does not represent me or my


views and, if the truth be told, he does not even represent a majority of the membership.


TIMOTHY SHEFLIN Retiree


Stuart, VA Editor’s Note: The April column of


Truth Be Told compared the record of New York’s current governor with the ideals set forth by his father in a famous address to the 1984 Democratic National Convention. Every effort was made to be accurate in the information presented.


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peddling services they can offer once out of office. This keeps them pretty focused, and not on our concerns. The labor movement simply cannot compete on this level. Perhaps, it is time for the unions to


its own To the Editor: Marty OʼConnor (in Truth Be Told)


and James Close (in You Said It) address a very urgent topic in the April Communicator. Whatever the Democratic Party once may have represented to the labor movement, the argument for our continued support seems ever less persuasive. The Democratic and


Republican parties are not membership organizations whose constituents set political agendas and support it with their dues. It's time we face up to this. Elected officials rely largely on


business PACs to bankroll their elections and look to corporations as future employers for the influence-


Labor must elect


consider blazing our own electoral path. We have allies in the civil rights, liberal, environmental and peace movements, including the Occupy movement. Many of these are also membership organizations that, like us, can finance these campaigns, set our own agendas and exclude business interference. We can hold candidates accountable in a way that we can't hold the Democrats. At the very least, a credible third


party would force the Democrats to sit up and take notice. They would be forced to compete with a labor- oriented agenda for our support. This might refocus them just a bit and make our support more valuable. Even if fracturing the


Democratic coalition led in the beginning to more Republican victories, what exactly would be lost? The Democrats have proven themselves ever more faithless allies as Marty has pointed out. Even now, they are only too


willing to find middle ground compromises with the most anti-union elements on the Republican side, and all at our expense. Why continue abetting that behavior?


BARRY FINGER Retiree Bronx


Matrazzo golf tournament set for July The 3rd Annual Lou Matrazzo Golf


Tournament will be held Thursday, July 19, at the Mohawk River Country Club in Rexford, Saratoga County. The cost is $90 and includes green fees,


a golf cart, lunch at the turn and a dinner buffet. The cost to attend just the dinner is $35. Registration begins at 7:30 a.m. with a


four-person scramble shotgun start at 8:30 a.m. There must be at least one PEF member per foursome. The event also will include contests, raffles and awards. Registration will be accepted on a first- come, first-served basis. A completed


Mail it to NYSPEF, Rachel Mango, PO


Box 12414, Albany, NY 12212. For more information, email


rmango@pef.org. To make a donation or become a sponsor, send an email to lpulver@pef.org. All proceeds from the tournament will be donated to the American Cancer Society. Matrazzo was a PEF vice president and


Region 8 activist who died March 19, 2009. — Deborah A. Miles


registration form and check for the full amount payable to “Annual Lou Matrazzo Golf Tournament” must be received by June 29.


Page 2—The Communicator May 2012


PEF Information Line: 1-800-553-2445


YOU SAID IT


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